Power Semiconductor Device with an Edge Termination Region

ABSTRACT

A power semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate, an active device region disposed in the semiconductor substrate, an edge termination region spaced laterally outward from the active device region in the semiconductor substrate, and first and second trenches. The first trench is disposed in the edge termination region and has an inner sidewall, an outer sidewall and a bottom, the inner sidewall being spaced closer to the active device region than the outer sidewall. The second trench is spaced laterally outward from the first trench in the edge termination region, and extends further into the semiconductor substrate than the first trench and has a sidewall which outwardly faces the outer sidewall of the first trench and is doped opposite as the inner sidewall and bottom of the first trench.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The present application relates to power semiconductor devices, inparticular power semiconductor devices with a high blocking voltagecapacity.

BACKGROUND

Many power semiconductor devices are fabricated on the samesemiconductor substrate. The devices are physically separated followingprocessing via a so-called dicing process which can be accomplished byscribing and breaking the substrate, by mechanically sawing (e.g. with adicing saw) or by laser cutting. In each case, the lateral edge of eachdevice has crystal defects which result from the dicing process. Leakagecurrent significantly increases due to the crystal defects if anyequipotential lines are permitted to reach the lateral edge of thedevice, reducing the blocking voltage capacity of the device.

To ensure a sufficiently high blocking voltage capacity for high-voltagesemiconductor devices fabricated from e.g. Si or SiC, suitable measuresmust be implemented in the edge termination region at the lateral edgeof the device. For modern MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) controlledpower switches such as SIPMOS transistors, IGBTs (insulated gate bipolartransistors) or DMOS (double-diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor)transistors as well as high-voltage diodes, the strength of the electricfield must be fully dissipated between the active device region and thesaw edge of the device. Otherwise, field magnification occurs at theedge of the device.

The higher the reverse capacity of the device, the more complicated aregenerally also the requirement on the passivation layers. For IGBTproducts, as well as the associated freewheeling diodes, reversevoltages of 600 V to up to 6.5 kV are currently required. The edgetermination region is in this case frequently realized with a planardesign. The purpose of the edge construction is to ensure that theequipotential lines are conducted from the inner part of the device tothe surface in such a way that their curve and thickness do not lead toany premature onset of avalanche generation in the silicon, or to adielectric breakdown in the passivation layers, and that the blockingcapacity of the device will be lowered far below the value of the volumebreakdown voltage.

Other critical locations are the steps and edges in the topology of theedge construction. Peak field strengths of several MV/cm can build up onthe surface in these locations during dynamic operation, creatingextremely high requirement for the robustness of the protectivepassivation layers on the surfaces. When these requirements are notfully met, there the device can fail after a certain number of switchingcycles.

Several conventional techniques can be applied in order to ensure asufficiently high blocking voltage capacity in the edge termination.Each of these techniques attempts to weaken the electric field on thesurface and to increase the tolerance region relative to the surfacecharges. The intent is to create potential relationships on the surfaceof the semiconductor material which can be maintained in a stable mannerover a long period of time. For mesa termination structures, thecontouring of the edge of the semiconductor is performed in the form ofinclined cross-sections or trenches created with the blockingpn-transitions. For planar termination structures, the dissipation ofthe field strength must be brought about with suitable maskingtechniques. Accordingly, either a lateral development of doping isprovided with the doping concentration adjusted accordingly, orso-called field plate constructions are used, through which the strengthof the surface field can be laterally dissipated in a suitable manner inthe insulation layer surface which is located between the field plateconstructions and the surface of the semiconductor.

However, a considerable portion of the surface of the device is requiredfor the optimization of a highly blocking planar edge with respect tothe blocking potential and blocking stability. Typically, a twofold orthreefold base thickness is set for the width of the edge termination.The high area requirement arises because the curving of theequipotential lines occurs for the most part in the silicon so that theycan be led out to the surface. The curving of the equipotential lines isconnected with an increase of the electric field. If the field exceeds acritical value, an avalanche breakdown occurs. In order to keep thecurve radius sufficiently low, a field plate construction with a cushionoxide for a 600 V device requires an edge termination width ofapproximately 200 to 250 μm. An edge width of more than 2,000 μm isrequired with such a structure already for a blocking capacity of 6.5kV.

Also, a planar high-voltage termination edge increases the expenseassociated with optimizing the simulation and increases the processcomplexity during the manufacturing. An overly complex process isparticularly expensive for high-voltage diodes because the basicstructure in the active part of the device is relatively simple and onlyrequires a few process steps.

In contrasts to planar edge termination structures, mesa edgetermination structures shift (at least partially) the dissipation of thefield strength in the vertical depth of the device and the edgerequirement is thus correspondingly smaller. Such a mesa edgetermination is widely used for the manufacturing of high-voltage devicesin the long-established bipolar technology, such as for example forthyristors.

However, very rough, mechanical techniques such as grinding, lapping orsandblasting are employed, which cannot be integrated with themanufacturing of MOS devices for reasons related to defect density.Moreover, the devices must be isolated for mechanic edge processing (forexample with laser cutting operations), and then further processed andfinished as individual chips or dies. This is also not compatible withthe manufacturing of wafers which have standard diameters at a highlevel of automation.

Alternative technologies which are compatible with MOS technology arenow available with the development of modern trench cell concepts, forexample with new IGBT generations, which are suitable for themanufacturing of a vertical edge termination. With the vertical designof the edge termination structure, a circumferential trench is formed atthe device edge, approximately in the area of the kerf along the dieswhich are later separated, through the depth of the drift zone. Theblocking voltage capacity is improved with the integration of theacceptors (p-type dopants) in the sidewall of the vertical trench. Foralternative, the trench can be set off from the lateral edge of thedevice so that the terminating edge region serves as a lateral fieldplate which is connected to the rear side potential. The equipotentiallines can thus be led to the upper part in the trench which is filledwith a dielectric material, and the actual chip edge remains field-free.

With the implantation of a higher acceptor dose in the bottom of thetrench as opposed to the sidewall, the depth of the trench can bereduced with a structure having a side field plate by about a half. Thestructure is thus suitable for process integration with thin wafertechnology in which a highly doped carrier material is no longer used.

However, the reduction of trench depth together with an increasingso-called punch through (PT) dimensioning leads to a behaviour in whichthe equipotential lines running through the structure under the bottomof the trench are “curved back” with a relatively large curve radius inthe outermost region to a channel stopper region. This requires aconsiderable amount of space for the width of the lateral field stopzone in order to prevent impacting of the space charge zone (SCZ) at thelateral saw edge, which leads to a massive leakage current increase dueto the damage caused to the crystals. The width of the lateral fieldstop zone can correspond to twice the width of the edge trench dependingon the strength of the PT dimensioning. This indeed holds strongly truewithout limitations only in the fast switching case, since under theconditions of a static blocking load, accumulation of holes occurs atthe outer lateral trench edge due to thermal generation, which partiallyshield the field against lateral spread. However, numeric simulationsprovide evidence that the shielding effect practically disappears with arelatively small depth of the trench, such as for example a half of thethickness of the chip, and with increased PT dimensioning, and thathardly any effect is exerted on the distribution of the equipotentiallines even in the static blocking mode.

SUMMARY

In order to minimize the edge requirement in view of punch-throughdimensioning, lateral field dissipation is provided by a zone of donorsreaching into the vertical depth of semiconductor substrate. The donorspreferably have a lateral dose above the breakdown charge of thesubstrate.

In one embodiment, the zone can be located either at the outermostsidewall of a vertical trench formed in an edge termination region ofthe semiconductor substrate, or at a distance from the trench betweenthe lateral edge and the trench. This embodiment provides a space savingtrench edge termination which may include a lateral channel stop zone.The lateral channel stop zone reaches into the vertical depth of thesemiconductor substrate and thus reduces the area needed curving backthe retrograde equipotential lines in the outer edge region with areduced trench depth and with distinct punch through dimensioning.Punching of the space charge zone can be prevented at the outer edge ofthe device despite having a reduced width of the lateral field stopzone.

In another embodiment, the lateral field dissipation is provided by adeep in-diffusion of donors in a lateral field stop zone. This provideslocal reinforcement for the basic doping, which leads to pushing back ofequipotential lines. Phosphorus enhanced diffusion of chalcenogides isparticularly suitable for this purpose, the chalcenogides acting asdouble donors when built into lattice locations. For example, the inwarddiffusion of selenium can be accelerated under the influence of an edgelayer which is highly doped with phosphorus, so that penetration depthson the order of magnitude of 100 μm or deeper can be realized with arelatively low thermal budget.

According to an embodiment of a power semiconductor device, the deviceincludes a semiconductor substrate, an active device region disposed inthe semiconductor substrate, an edge termination region disposed in thesemiconductor substrate between the active device region and a lateraledge of the semiconductor substrate, and a trench disposed in the edgetermination region which extends from a first surface of thesemiconductor substrate toward a second opposing surface of thesemiconductor substrate. The trench has an inner sidewall, an outersidewall and a bottom. The inner sidewall is spaced further from thelateral edge of the semiconductor substrate than the outer sidewall, andan upper portion of the outer sidewall is doped opposite as the innersidewall and bottom of the trench.

According to an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a powersemiconductor device, the method includes forming an active deviceregion in a semiconductor substrate and an edge termination regionbetween the active device region and a lateral edge of the semiconductorsubstrate and forming a trench in the edge termination region whichextends from a first surface of the semiconductor substrate toward asecond opposing surface of the semiconductor substrate. The trench hasan inner sidewall, an outer sidewall and a bottom. The inner sidewall isspaced further from the lateral edge of the semiconductor substrate thanthe outer sidewall. The method further includes doping an upper portionof the outer sidewall opposite as the inner sidewall and bottom of thetrench.

According to another embodiment of a power semiconductor device, thedevice includes a semiconductor substrate, an active device regiondisposed in the semiconductor substrate, an edge termination regionspaced laterally outward from the active device region in thesemiconductor substrate and a first trench disposed in the edgetermination region. The first trench has an inner sidewall, an outersidewall and a bottom, the inner sidewall spaced closer to the activedevice region than the outer sidewall. The power semiconductor devicefurther includes a second trench spaced laterally outward from the firsttrench in the edge termination region. The second trench extends furtherinto the semiconductor substrate than the first trench and has asidewall which outwardly faces the outer sidewall of the first trenchand is doped opposite as the inner sidewall and bottom of the firsttrench.

According to an embodiment of a method of manufacturing a powersemiconductor device, the method includes forming an active deviceregion in a semiconductor substrate and an edge termination regionspaced laterally outward from the active device region, forming a firsttrench in the edge termination region which has an inner sidewall, anouter sidewall and a bottom, the inner sidewall spaced closer to theactive device region than the outer sidewall, and forming a secondtrench spaced laterally outward from the first trench in the edgetermination region. The second trench extends further into thesemiconductor substrate than the first trench and has a sidewall whichoutwardly faces the outer sidewall of the first trench. The methodfurther includes doping the sidewall of the second trench opposite asthe inner sidewall and bottom of the first trench.

According to yet another embodiment of a power semiconductor device, thedevice includes a semiconductor substrate, an active device regiondisposed in the semiconductor substrate, an edge termination regiondisposed in the semiconductor substrate between the active device regionand a lateral edge of the semiconductor substrate, and a region ofchalcogen dopant atoms disposed in the edge termination region adjacentthe lateral edge of the semiconductor substrate.

According to an yet embodiment of a method of manufacturing a powersemiconductor device, the method includes forming an active deviceregion in a semiconductor substrate, forming an edge termination regionbetween the active device region and a lateral edge of the semiconductorsubstrate, and forming a region of chalcogen dopant atoms in the edgetermination region adjacent the lateral edge of the semiconductorsubstrate.

Those skilled in the art will recognize additional features andadvantages upon reading the following detailed description, and uponviewing the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative toeach other. Like reference numerals designate corresponding similarparts. The features of the various illustrated embodiments can becombined unless they exclude each other. Embodiments are depicted in thedrawings and are detailed in the description which follows.

FIG. 1 illustrates a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a powersemiconductor device according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 2-3 illustrate an embodiment of a method of doping the sidewallsand bottom of a trench formed in the edge termination region of a powersemiconductor device.

FIG. 4 illustrates a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a powersemiconductor device according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 5-6 illustrate an embodiment of a method of forming two trenchesin the edge termination region of a power semiconductor device.

FIGS. 7-8 illustrate an embodiment of a method of forming a region ofchalcogen dopant atoms in the edge termination region of a powersemiconductor device.

FIG. 9 illustrates a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a powersemiconductor device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a powersemiconductor device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a powersemiconductor device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plot diagram illustrating different doping profiles in theedge termination region of a power semiconductor device.

FIG. 13 illustrates a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a powersemiconductor device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates a partial cross-sectional schematic view of a powersemiconductor device according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A number of embodiments are explained next. Identical structuralfeatures are identified by identical or similar reference symbols in theFigures. In the context of the present description, “lateral” or“lateral direction” should be understood to mean a direction or extentthat runs generally parallel to the lateral extent of a semiconductormaterial or semiconductor body. The lateral direction thus extendsgenerally parallel to these surfaces or sides. In contrast thereto, theterm “vertical” or “vertical direction” is understood to mean adirection that runs generally perpendicular to these surfaces or sidesand thus to the lateral direction. The vertical direction therefore runsin the thickness direction of the semiconductor material orsemiconductor carrier.

Power semiconductor devices are described below. The power semiconductordevices may be of different types, may be manufactured by differenttechnologies and may include, for example, integrated electrical,electro-optical or electro-mechanical circuits or passives. The powersemiconductor devices may include inorganic and/or organic materialsthat are not semiconductors, such as, for example, discrete passives,antennas, insulators, plastics or metals. Furthermore, the devicesdescribed below may include further integrated circuits to control thepower integrated circuits of the power semiconductor chips.

The power semiconductor devices may include power MOSFETs (Metal OxideSemiconductor Field Effect Transistors), DMOSFETs (Double-diffusedMOSFET), IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), JFETs (JunctionGate Field Effect Transistors), power bipolar transistors or powerdiodes such as power Schottky diodes. Some power semiconductor deviceshave a vertical structure in that the devices are fabricated in such away that electric currents can flow in a direction perpendicular to themain faces of these power semiconductor devices.

A power semiconductor device having a vertical structure, i.e. verticalpower semiconductor device, may have terminals such as contacts on itstwo main faces, that is to say on its top side and bottom side, or, inother words, on its front side and rear side. By way of example, thesource electrode and the gate electrode of a power MOSFET may besituated on one main face, while the drain electrode of the power MOSFETmay be arranged on the other main face. The contacts may be made ofaluminum, copper or any other suitable material. One or more metallayers may be applied to the contact pads of the power semiconductorchips. The metal layers may, for example, be made of titanium, nickelvanadium, gold, silver, copper, palladium, platinum, nickel, chromium orany other suitable material. The metal layers need not be homogenous ormanufactured from just one material, that is to say various compositionsand concentrations of the materials contained in the metal layers arepossible. Conversely, electric currents flow in a direction parallel tothe main faces of lateral power semiconductor devices.

Various embodiments are described next with emphasis on the edgetermination structure of power semiconductor devices. The edgetermination structures described herein can be included in any type ofpower semiconductor device to increase the blocking voltage capacity ofthe device. For ease of illustration only, the embodiments illustratethe power semiconductor devices as power diodes. However, any type ofpower semiconductor device can include the edge termination structuresdescribed herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a power diode 100 designed foroperation at e.g. 1,200 V. The diode 100 includes a semiconductorsubstrate 102 such as an n-doped silicon wafer which may or may not havean epitaxial layer. In one embodiment, the semiconductor substrate 102has a specific resistance of about 53 Ωcm and a thickness of about 125μm. The diode 100 has an inner active device region 104 and an outeredge termination region 106. A p⁺ doped anode region 108 having asurface concentration e.g. of about 1·10¹⁷ cm⁻³ and a junction depth ofabout 6 μm is formed at the top surface 110 of the semiconductorsubstrate 102 in the active device region 104. An optional n⁺ dopedchannel stop region 112 is formed in the edge termination region 106toward the lateral edge 114 of the diode 100 i.e. the side of the diode100 which is cut to separate the diode 100 from other devicesmanufactured on the same substrate. Alternatively, the channel stopregion 112 can be p⁺ doped. An n⁺ emitter 116 is located at the rearside 118 of the diode 100 and has a surface concentration e.g. of about3.5·10¹⁵ cm⁻³ and a penetration depth of about 2 μm. A pre-charged fieldstop zone 120 with a maximum concentration of e.g. 1.3˜10¹⁴ cm⁻³ and apenetration depth of 10 μm is also located at the rear side 118. Acathode electrode 122 electrically contacts the emitter 116 at the rearside 118 and an anode contact 124 electrically contacts the anode 108 atthe top side 110. A portion (inner) of the active device region 104 isout-of-view in FIG. 1.

The blocking voltage is absorbed at the lateral edge 114 of the diode100 by a circumferential trench 126 having e.g. a width of 60 μm and adepth of 70 μm. The inner sidewall 128 of the trench 126 (i.e. thesidewall spaced furthest from the lateral edge of the diode) and thebottom 130 of the trench 126 are implanted with p-type dopants such asboron. In one embodiment, the inner trench sidewall 128 has p⁻ doping toreduce the critical electrical field strength of the p⁺ to n⁻ junctionbetween the anode region 108 and the substrate 102, and to prevent abreakdown in the surface. The bottom 130 of the trench 126 has (higher)p doping to compensate for donor charges in the depth and thus allowinga reduction of the depth of the trench 126 to about a half of thesubstrate thickness, without causing a breakdown in the region of thebottom 130 of the trench 126. The channel stop region 112 extendsbetween the outer sidewall 132 of the trench 126 (i.e. the sidewallspaced closest to the lateral edge of the diode) and the lateral edge114 of the diode 100. In some embodiments, the channel stop region 112has a surface concentration of about 1·10¹⁸ cm⁻³ and a penetration depthof about 6 μm. The trench 126 can be filled with a material having adielectric constant of e.g. E=3.9. With optimized doping ratios, thebreakdown in the volume of the device occurs with a blocking voltage of1,830 V. The resulting distribution of equipotential lines is shown inFIG. 1.

The upper portion 134 of the outer trench sidewall 132 is doped n-typeinstead of p-type e.g. with n⁺ doping. The n-type dose of the upperportion 134 of the outer trench sidewall 132 can be adjusted similarlyto the level in the channel stop region 112, and thus is above thebreakdown charge of the semiconductor substrate 102. Avalanche breakdowncan take place in the outer corner of the trench bottom 130, thusindicating a certain loss of blocking voltage is inevitable between thep doping in the trench bottom 130 and the vertical channel stop regionwithin the trench 134. For this reason, the n⁺ doping can be restrictedto the upper portion 134 of the outer trench sidewall 132. In oneembodiment, the n+ doping of the outer trench sidewall 132 extends alength of 30 μm from the top surface 110 of the semiconductor substrate102 to achieve full volume blocking capability. The lower portion 136 ofthe outer trench sidewall 132 can have p− doping in this case. Ofcourse, the doping types described above could be reversed for ap-channel device.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate an embodiment of forming the vertical trench126 with the different doping types described above. FIG. 2 shows thetrench 126 etched in the semiconductor substrate 102. In someembodiments, the semiconductor substrate 102 is less than 200 μm thickand the trench 126 extends from the top surface 110 of the substrate 102to a depth of ⅔ or less of the thickness of the substrate 102. FIG. 2also shows a mask layer 138 deposited on the upper portion of the outertrench sidewall 132 for shielding this portion of the outer sidewall 132from p-type dopants. FIG. 3 shows the semiconductor substrate 102 afterthe inner sidewall 128, bottom 130 and lower portion of the outersidewall 132 are doped p-type e.g. via an implantation or diffusionprocess, yielding a p-type implantation region 140 in these regions ofthe trench 126. The mask 138 is then removed from the upper part of theouter sidewall 132. The inner sidewall 128, bottom 130 and lower portion136 of the outer sidewall 132 of the trench 126 are then covered by amask and the upper portion 134 of the outer trench sidewall 132 is dopedn-type e.g. via an implantation or diffusion process, yielding thestructure shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a power diode 150 where adeeper, second trench 152 is spaced laterally outward from the firsttrench 126 in the edge termination region 106. The second trench 152extends further into the semiconductor substrate 102 than the firsttrench 126 and has an inner sidewall 154 which outwardly faces the outersidewall 132 of the first trench 126 and is doped opposite as the innersidewall 128 and bottom 130 of the first trench 126. In one embodiment,the sidewalls 154, 156 of the second trench 152 have n⁺ doping and thesecond trench 152 is laterally spaced apart from the first trench 126 byabout 20 μm. The bottom 158 of the second trench 152 ends in oneembodiment at about 15 μm above the rear surface 118 of thesemiconductor substrate 102. The second trench 152 with n-type dopingprevents the retrograde development of outer potential lines so that thespace between the second trench 152 and the lateral edge 114 of thesubstrate remains relatively field free. The width of the edgetermination region 106 (i.e. the lateral distance between the outersidewall of the first trench and the lateral side of the substrate) canbe reduced to about 80 μm in some embodiments.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an embodiment of forming the first and secondtrenches 126, 152 in the semiconductor substrate 102. FIG. 5 shows thefirst trench 126 etched in an inner part of the edge termination regionand the second trench 152 etched in the substrate 102 between the firsttrench 126 and the lateral edge 114 of the power diode 150. FIG. 6 showsa hard mask 160 such as a USG (undoped silicon glass) hard maskdeposited over the semiconductor substrate 102 except in the region ofthe second (outer) trench 152 and phosphorus glass (PSG) 162 isdeposited in the second trench 152. A diffusion step is then performedto diffuse phosphorus from the PSG into the sidewalls 154, 156 andbottom 158 of the second trench 152. Alternatively, phosphorus can beimplanted into the sidewalls 154, 156 and bottom 158 of the secondtrench 152. The PSG 162 is removed in the first embodiment and thesecond trench 152 filled with polysilicon 164 as shown in FIG. 4.

The outer field stop trench 152 can be made before the inner trench 126,because the refill with polysilicon 164 is difficult to mask above theinner trench 126 due to the high temperature. After removal of thepolysilicon from the top surface 110 of the semiconductor substrate 102e.g. via CMP (chemical mechanical polishing), the process sequence forthe inner trench 126 can be performed more easily. In either case, a CMPstep is carried out in order to remove the polysilicon from the topsurface 110 of the semiconductor substrate 102. The anode 108 andoptional channel stop region 112 are then implanted and driven in. Ifprovided, the channel stop region 112 is formed in the top surface 110of the semiconductor substrate 102 between the outer sidewall 132 of thefirst trench 126 and the inner sidewall 154 of the second trench 152.The channel stop region 112 can be omitted, since extending of the spacecharge zone into the device edge 114 is already reliably prevented bythe n+ doped second trench 152. Optionally a process for reduction ofminority carrier lifetime like Pt diffusion or high energy electronirradiation can be subsequently carried out in order to adjust thedynamic behavior of the diode 150.

FIG. 4 shows the resulting structure. The second trench 152 can then beetched, e.g. via a USG hard mask. Further processing can also beperformed such as removing damage e.g. by annealing, implanting boron inthe sidewalls 128, 132 and bottom 130 of the first trench 126, followedby further penetration, filling the first trench 126, planarization,metallization and passivation. The rear side 118 of the substrate 102can then be processed to produce the cathode 116, field stop zone 120,and metallization 122.

The power diode 150 can be physically separated from other devicesfabricated on the same semiconductor substrate by cutting through theedge termination region 106. In one embodiment, the second trench 152 isarranged in the kerf as indicated by the dashed line labelled ‘A’ inFIG. 4, so that the cutting tool cuts through the second trench 152.That is, the field limiting second trench 152 is located directly in thescribe line so that a saw trace runs the second trench 152. At least theinner highly doped sidewall 154 of the second trench 152 remains a partof the power diode 150 after cutting. The second trench 152 is an opentrench according to this embodiment in that the remaining semiconductorsubstrate (post cutting) does not laterally contain the second trench152 in a region opposing the inner sidewall 154 of the second trench152. As such, either the trench fill material 164 or the inner sidewall154 of the second trench 152 is exposed after cutting. In this case theleft and right edges of the separated semiconductor substrate can be,respectively, associated with neighbouring chips. Alternatively, thecutting occurs outside the second trench 152 as indicated by the dashedline labelled ‘B’ in FIG. 4. The second trench 152 is a closed trenchaccording to this embodiment in that the second trench 152 is laterallycontained on all sides by the remaining semiconductor substrate. In eachcase, the processes described above can be applied to othersemiconductor materials which can be e.g. SiC, GaN, GaAs, etc.

In other embodiments, the basic doping of the semiconductor substratecan be reinforced at the chip edge and into the drift zone with adiffused region of chalcogen dopant atoms such as selenium which curvethe equipotential lines away from the lateral edge of the substrate andtoward the top surface to increase the blocking voltage capacity for adevice with a shrinked lateral channel stop region. Chalcogens tend tocreate cluster formations in a semiconductor lattice such as a Silattice. Chalcogen pairs form complexes of a higher order close to theimplanted surface with its own kind of donor levels, as opposed to beingisolated to an atom which is positioned at one place in the lattice.Chalcogens are stored preferably on crystal defects close to the wafersurface where they are electrically active only to a very small extent.Accordingly, the depth of the defect at the side of the crystal, as wellas disturbances of the lattice which can be caused by the actual ionimplantation can have a decisive influence on the subsequent diffusionbehavior (diffusion to the side or diffusion to the lattice defectsproduced in this manner). For example, the use of selenium as a dopingsubstance results in a small percentage of the implanted dose of thesubstance being in-diffused electrically activated under typical curingconditions of e.g. 900 to 1000° C.

The diffusion mechanism of selenium is enhanced in the presence ofself-interstitial atoms e.g. of silicon self interstitials in the caseof a silicon wafer. Selenium atoms located in fixed lattice positionsare evicted by the self-interstitials into an intermediate lattice wherethey become mobile. The more the lattice is oversaturated withself-interstitial atoms, the greater the diffusion constant of theselenium atoms due to the increased mobility. To achieve the highestdiffusion depths possible with a limited thermal budget, point defects(interstitials) that are created with implantation of ions should becreated with a suitable temperature and with a time profile which hasthe highest possible efficiency (IED=implantation enhanced diffusion),along with diffusion in an oxidizing atmosphere e.g. during a thermaloxidation or a pyrolytic TEOS decomposition of SiO₂. The lattice is thusoversaturated with Si self-interstitial lattice atoms. Theseself-interstitial lattice atoms enhance the diffusion characteristics ofimplanted chalcogen atoms.

Chalcogens act as double donors and have a high diffusion constant ascompared to pentavalent elements such as P, As or Sb, so that higherpenetration depths can be realized during the same processingtemperatures such as between 900° C. and 1,000° C. For example, Seimplantation and diffusion can be used with IGBTs, JFETs, power MOSFETsand diodes, in addition to or as an alternative to proton irradiation,to form an area with increased n-doping in the edge termination regionwhich curves the equipotential lines away from the lateral edge of thesemiconductor substrate.

Selenium diffuses interstitially, where the inward diffusion isaccelerated when the semiconductor crystal is oversaturated with selfinterstitial lattice atoms (self interstitials) as selenium atomslocated in lattice positions are evicted by the self interstitials intothe intermediate lattice where they are mobile. The stronger theoversaturation of the lattice with e.g. interstitial Si atoms, thehigher the diffusion coefficient. In addition, because of the supply ofself interstitials, which are present for example with thermal oxidationor with diffusion of phosphorus including a high surface concentration,the diffusion depth of Se or other chalcogens such as S or Te can befurther increased with a comparable thermal budget.

A strong segregation/outdiffusion of selenium (or other chalcogen) takesplace at the same time, either in the oxide which is grown in thismanner or in the surface regions of a phosphorus-containing layer. Themaximum concentration of selenium is in this case strongly decreasedduring the inward diffusion, so that with higher diffusion depths it isno longer guaranteed for a dose that is required for an effective fieldstop. However, an increase of the implantation dose which is used tocompensate for these losses is successful to a limited extent because asthe dose is increased, the Si lattice is increasingly amorphized on theside with the ion implantation and the tendency of selenium or otherchalcogen to form inactive clusters in the damaged crystal regionsupports and further intensifies the loss on the electric active centersunder these circumstances.

Selenium has four discrete energy levels which are associated with thesimple and double interference positions of a substitution integrated Seatom or a Se pair. After annealing, the pair centers disappear in theDLTS (deep level transient spectroscopy) spectrum almost completely at atemperature above 900° C., so that the energy level associated with theindividual Se interference position at 250 meV (for the single chargecenter) and at 496 meV (for the double charge center) prevail under theconduction band in the spectrum. An oppositely oriented mechanism ofsegregation is created in particular when a phosphorus-driven inwarddiffusion is employed in the highly doped phosphorus surface layer forformation of an arch-shaped diffusion profile with a wide maximum in thevertical depth. This effect can be utilized to adjust an inwarddiffusion reaching as deep as possible. In one embodiment, theindiffusion of phosphorus is conducted with a gas phase e.g. from aPOCL₃ or PH₃ doping source, or from another gas combination containingphosphorus. Doing so produces a very high surface concentration ofphosphorus and the lattice can thus be effectively oversaturated withself interstitials. In another embodiment, P-implantation can be carriedout to release the self interstitials.

The region of chalcogen atoms can be driven in by the injection ofself-interstitials from an optional channel stopper zone. A trenchformed in the edge termination region causes most equipotential lines tocurve away from the lateral edge of the substrate toward the topsurface. Due to the higher n-doping, the outermost potential lines inthe retrograde direction are pushed back in the outer chip region andthe space requirements for the SCZ are minimized with a reduced trenchdepth and distinct punch through dimensioning in the lateral field stopzone. The edge termination area can be thus shrunk further, withoutcausing lateral punching of the outermost potential line through the cutedge of the substrate.

If the optional channel stopper is provided in the edge terminationregion, which usually but not necessarily includes a highly dopedphosphorus end zone, it is possible to use inward diffusion of selenium(or other chalcogen) in a subsequent high temperature step. Thephosphorus edge layer can be in this case generated with a selectivedeposition of PH₃ or POCl₃ (through an oxide mask), or with masked ionimplantation (for example through a resist mask).

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate an embodiment of forming a region of chalcogendopant atoms in the edge termination region of a power semiconductordevice adjacent the lateral edge 202 of a semiconductor substrate 200.After the implantation of an anode region 204 through a resist maskusing for example boron, either the growth of a thermal oxide 206 isprovided, or a CVD deposition of an oxide layer for example a TEOS maskis separated out. In this case, etching can be applied with phototechnology to the regions which are used for the optional channel stopregion, which is followed by Se (or other chalcogen) implantation 208 asshown in FIG. 7. A phosphorus region is then provided. For example, PH₃or POCl₃ can be deposited through the mask to form aphosphorus-containing layer 210 above the implanted chalcogen dopantatoms 212 as shown in FIG. 8. After that, for example etching is carriedout to form a trench 214 in the substrate 200 which is followed byin-diffusion (while a reverse order is also possible). The substrate 200is annealed to drive in the chalcogen dopant atoms 212 to a desireddepth as previously explained herein. The phosphorus-containing layer210 can be used as an n+ channel stop region, or removed. Pt diffusioncan also be carried for an adjustment of the dynamic behavior of thepower device. Further processing can also be carried out, e.g. includingremoving the damage, implanting boron in the sidewalls 216, 218 andbottom 220 of the trench 214 e.g. in quart mode, followed bypenetration, filling of the trench 218, planarization, metallization andpassivation. The processing of the rear side is then performed tomanufacture a field stop zone 222, cathode 224, and metallization 226(for instance by an appropriate thin wafer technology).

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of a power diode e.g. manufactured inaccordance with the above process. The diode is designed for applicationat 1,200 V. The semiconductor substrate 200 can be n-doped silicon witha specific resistance of 53 Ωcm and a chip thickness of 125 μm. On thetop surface of the substrate is located a p⁺ doped anode 228 in theactive device region 104 having a surface concentration of about 1·10¹⁷cm⁻³ and a junction depth of about 6 μm, and a corresponding electrode230. An optional n⁺ (or p+) doped channel stop region 232 is locatedadjacent the outer lateral edge 234 of the substrate 200 in the edgetermination region 106.

On the rear side of the device is located the n⁺ emitter 224 which mayhave a surface concentration of about 3.5·10¹⁵ cm⁻³ and a penetrationdepth of about 2 μm. The field stop zone 222 may have a maximumconcentration of about 1.3·10¹⁴ cm⁻³ and a penetration depth of 10 μm.The optional channel stop region 232 laterally extends between the outersidewall 218 of the trench 214 and the lateral saw edge 234 of thesubstrate 200. The channel stop region 232 can have a surfaceconcentration of ≧1·10¹⁹ cm⁻³ in order to provide a sufficient pusheffect for the inward diffusion of the chalcogen dopant atoms 212 suchas selenium in this embodiment. The vertical penetration depth of thechannel stop region 232 into the substrate 200 can be in the range from0.5 μm to about 5 μm, depending on the thermal budget.

The blocking voltage is absorbed at the edge 234 of the device by thetrench 214 which can have a width of about 60 μm and a depth of about 70μm. The sidewalls 216, 218 and the bottom 220 of the trench 214 can beprovided with boron implantation using different doses e.g. p− dopingfor the inner sidewall 216, p doping for the bottom 220 and p− dopingfor the outer sidewall 218. The trench 214 can be filled with a materiale.g. having a dielectric constant of ε=3.9.

Phosphorus deposition or implantation of the n⁺ channel stop region 232can be performed through the same mask, and Se (or other chalcogen)implantation can be performed in advance together with the inwarddiffusion of the channel stop region 232 (and of the anode region ifdesired). Se profiles can have a very high penetration depth with thistype of processing as previously described herein. A relatively smallthermal budget can also be realized in this case (e.g. with a total timeperiod of 4.5 hours for P deposition and penetration at temperatures of1,000° C.) with a diffusion Se depth of about 100 μm. The profile of Sedistribution 212 in the numerical simulation was presumed in thevertical depth to have a Gaussian distribution without lateralconcentration gradients. The region of Se (or other chalcogen) atoms 212laterally extends, just like the channel stop region 232, from the outertrench sidewall 218 to the lateral edge 234 of the semiconductorsubstrate 200. The region of Se atoms 212 can have a penetration depthdj approximately the same as the trench bottom 220 as shown in FIG. 9,or can extend below the trench bottom 220 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 inthe vertical direction.

FIG. 9 illustrates the distribution of the equipotential lines in thecase when the edge concentration of the Se atoms 212 corresponds toabout 1·10¹⁵ cm⁻³ and the Se penetration depth dj is about 70 μm. Thiscorresponds to integration in the y direction and a surface dose of Seof about 3.9·10¹² cm⁻². As a result, a distinct pushing back of theouter potential lines is provided, in particular in the region of deepSe-indiffusion underneath the upper surface.

FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment with a higher Se diffusion depthdj (e.g. 100 μm), but a smaller Se edge concentration (e.g. 3√10¹⁴cm⁻³). The Se dose value according to this embodiment is about 2.3·10¹²cm⁻² smaller than in the embodiment of FIG. 9. In spite of thisdifference, the result is even slightly better with respect to thelateral potential development. In both cases, the blocking capability ofthe device remains unchanged at 1,830 V.

FIG. 11 illustrates yet another embodiment with an Se penetration depthdj on the order of magnitude of the substrate thickness. When the Sepenetration depth is further increased to 150 μm (in which case thediffusion front already exceeds the final thickness of the substrate),and the Se edge concentration is again about 1·10¹⁵ cm⁻³, the resultingdistribution of equipotential lines is as shown in FIG. 11. Under theseboundary conditions, the edge termination size requirement can befurther reduced, without exerting a detrimental influence on theblocking capability. The corresponding dose is about 8.4·10¹² cm⁻².

FIG. 12 illustrates the vertical doping distribution in the lateralfield boundary zone for: a conventional device with an edge terminationtrench having p-doped sidewalls and bottom and an n+ channel stop region(curve A); the power semiconductor device shown in FIG. 9 (curve B); andthe power semiconductor device shown in FIG. 11 (curve C). When the Seedge concentration is increased to 3·10¹⁵ cm⁻³ at a diffusion depth of150 μm, an early avalanche breakdown can occur at the outer edge of thebottom of the trench. The blocking voltage drops in this case to 1,512 V(see FIG. 5). While a further contraction of the SCZ is only marginalrealized, the loss with respect to the blocking voltage is significant.The embodiment of FIG. 11 thus represents an optimum (approximately)embodiment with regard to voltage blocking capability, depending ofcourse on the particular device design and implementation.

The embodiments which provide a chalcogen dopant region in the edgetermination region permit a reduction in the width of the lateral fieldregion from the outer edge of the trench to the lateral side of thesubstrate 200 from about 70 μm to about 20 μm, thus providing a distinctshrinking of the size of the edge termination region 106, which could beof substantial significance for the termination of the trench edge. Thedose values described above are in accordance with a simulation forbetween 2× and 6× of the breakdown charge for silicon with 1.4·10¹²cm⁻².

FIG. 13 illustrates yet another embodiment of the edge terminationregion 106, in which the field dissipation is performed in the lateraldirection to the device edge with a so-called VLD (variation of lateraldoping) edge termination structure 300. The VLD 300 extends laterallyfrom the active device region 104 to a region of chalcogen dopant atoms302 interposed between an n+ (or p+) channel stop region 304 and the VLD300. Accordingly, the VLD 300 is spaced apart from the lateral edge 306of the substrate 308 by the region of chalcogen dopant atoms 302 and thechannel stop region 304. A passivation layer 310 is provided on the topsurface 312 of the semiconductor substrate 308. Depending on the dopingratios and boundary surface conditions on the semiconductor surface forthe passivation layer 310, a retrograde development of the equipotentiallines can occur on the rear side 314 of the substrate 308 at which islocated cathode 316. This retrograde development can be limited orcompletely eliminated by using a deep Se (or other chalcogen) diffusionas previously described herein. Also at the rear side 314 is a fieldstop zone 318 and metallization 320. At the top side 312 in the activedevice region 104 is the anode 322 and corresponding electrode 324.

FIG. 14 illustrates yet another embodiment of the edge terminationregion 106 which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, withintroduction of a deep n-doped lateral field boundary zone 326 below thechannel stop region 304. The deep lateral field boundary zone 326permits a further reduction in the size of the edge termination region106 by reducing the distance needed between the VLD region 300 and thechannel stop region 304 for ensuring the voltage blocking capability ofthe device.

Spatially relative terms such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”,“upper” and the like, are used for ease of description to explain thepositioning of one element relative to a second element. These terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in additionto different orientations than those depicted in the figures. Further,terms such as “first”, “second”, and the like, are also used to describevarious elements, regions, sections, etc. and are also not intended tobe limiting. Like terms refer to like elements throughout thedescription.

As used herein, the terms “having”, “containing”, “including”,“comprising” and the like are open ended terms that indicate thepresence of stated elements or features, but do not preclude additionalelements or features. The articles “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural as well as the singular, unless the context clearlyindicates otherwise.

It is to be understood that the features of the various embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined with each other, unless specificallynoted otherwise.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may besubstituted for the specific embodiments shown and described withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. This application isintended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specificembodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that thisinvention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

1-7. (canceled)
 8. A power semiconductor device, comprising: asemiconductor substrate; an active device region disposed in thesemiconductor substrate; an edge termination region spaced laterallyoutward from the active device region in the semiconductor substrate; afirst trench disposed in the edge termination region and having an innersidewall, an outer sidewall and a bottom, the inner sidewall spacedcloser to the active device region than the outer sidewall; and a secondtrench spaced laterally outward from the first trench in the edgetermination region, the second trench extending further into thesemiconductor substrate than the first trench and having a sidewallwhich outwardly faces the outer sidewall of the first trench and isdoped opposite as the inner sidewall and bottom of the first trench. 9.The power semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein the second trenchfurther comprises polysilicon adjacent the sidewall.
 10. The powersemiconductor device of claim 8, further comprising a channel stopregion disposed at a first surface of the semiconductor substratebetween the outer sidewall of the first trench and the sidewall of thesecond trench, the channel stop region having the same doping type asthe sidewall of the second trench.
 11. The power semiconductor device ofclaim 8, wherein the second trench is a closed trench in that the secondtrench is laterally contained on all sides by the semiconductorsubstrate.
 12. The power semiconductor device of claim 8, wherein thesecond trench is an open trench in that the semiconductor substrate doesnot laterally contain the second trench in a region opposing thesidewall of the second trench. 13-32. (canceled)